Slide buckle



y 1, 1956 F. DAVIS 2,743,497

SLIDE BUCKLE Filed March 25, 1955 V ATTORNEY United States Patent SLIDEBUCKLE Frank L. Davis, College Point, vN.; Y., assignor to DavisAircraft Products Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Theinvention herein disclosed relates to slide buckles and the purposes ofthe invention generally are to provide such a buckle in a simple, lightweight, small construction which will be of low cost and beeasily andquickly manipulated either to take up or to let out the strap secured bythe buckle. H v j u a Further special objects of the invention are toprovide a slide buckle which will consist of but few parts and the mainparts he of sheet metal readily produced by simple punch and dieoperations. f I I Other important objects of the invention are toprovide a slide buckle of the type indicated, in which the parts may bereadily assembled and secured in final relation, and in which theattached parts will fully brace and reinforce each other, enabling useof light weight materials to provide a strong, durable structure.

Additional objects are to provide a slide buckle construction in whichthe strap or webbing will be fully protected within the body of thebuckle.

Other desirable objects and the novel features through which thepurposes of the invention are attained are set forth and will appear inthe course of the following specification.

The drawing accompanying and forming part of the specificationillustrates a present practical embodiment of the invention. Structure,however, may be modified and changed as regards theimmediate'illustration, without departure from the true spirit and broadscope of the invention as hereinafter defined and claimed.

Fig. 1 in the drawingis a broken plan view of one of the new slidebuckles;

Fig. 2 is a broken longitudinal sectional view on substantially theplane of line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a broken side elevation and part sectional view onsubstantially the plane of line 3--3 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a broken plan and part sectional detail of the bucklestructure.

The base or frame of the buckle consists in the present disclosure, of achannel made up of a flat back portion 7 having substantiallyparallel'side flanges 8, 9.

These side flanges are secured in their upstanding parallel relation bya cross member shown in the form of a bar or rod 10 disposed between theflanges near one end and secured by riveting therethrough as indicatedat 11.

This cross bar rigidly braces and reinforces the side flanges, enablingthe channel base or frame to be made of relatively light and thin sheetmetal.

Near the opposite end of the base the back wall is shown as crossslotted at 12 between the flanges to provide a cross bar 13 at that endabout which one of the straps 14 is secured in the form of a loop 15.

The other, adjustable strap or webbing 16 is held by looping it about aslide arranged to bind it against the stationary cross bar 10.

This slide is shown as a flat cross bar 17 extending across between theside flanges and guided at its ends in longitudinal slots 18 in theflanges, straight and substantially parallel to the back wall 7.

2,743,497 iatented May 1, 1956 I This flat cross bar is slidinglysecured in this relation by cupped finger buttons or knobs 19 engagedover the abruptly angled outer ends 20 of the bar and secured in thisrelation by reduced shank portion 21 on the ends of the bar extendingthrough the cups and riveted thereover at 22.

Secured in this relation, the inner ends of the finger cups ride overthe outer faces of the flanges, thus to guide the bar freely in slidingrelation in the slots.

The adjustable strap 16 is held by looping it about the slide bar andcausing it to be gripped against the stationi ary cross bar 10, asparticularly shown in Fig. 2.

To provide ample gripping surface for the encircling looped portion 23of the strap, a sleeve or collar of body forming gripping material ispreferably disposed about the intermediate flat portion of the barbetween the side flanges.

This gripping portion may be in the form of an open sleeve 24 of metalor other material looped about the bar. This gripping or filler sleevemay be slipped into position between the flanges as the bar is beingpassed through the slots 18, and it will then be secured in suchrelation when the finger buttons are secured over the outer ends of thebar, at the outer sides of the flanges.

To increase the holding effect the gripping sleeve 24, which may be ofaluminum or other such material, may be knurled or roughened, asindicatedat 25.

The open character of the gripping sleeve is an advantage, enabling itto be readily slipped into place on the slide bar and giving it acertain spring tension, permitting it to adjust itself into firm holdingengagement with the loop of strap extending about the same.

The spacer bar It), in addition to reinforcing and securing the flangesin their spaced parallel relation and forming a holding abutment for thestrap looped about the slide bar, also serves as a guide for directingand holding both runs of the strap toward the flat back wall 7 of thechannel.

As shown in Fig. 2, the spacer and abutment bar 10 is located relativelyclose to the lower ends of the slots 18 so as to allow the slide freemovement to fully grip the strap against the bar, and is further shownas extending partly across the ends of the slots so as to force the freeend portion of the strap to form a loop 26 thereabout. Preferably,however, the abutment bar does not extend far enough transversely of theslots to fit or hold the straight, tensional length of strap at 27 awayfrom the gripping surface 24 of the slide bar.

In this relation, however, both lengths of the looped strap are disposedwithin the channel, protected by the back Wall and side flanges. In thisrelation the back of the channel is left clear and free of projections.

The finger buttons 19 at the ends of the slide bar provide convenientmeans for lifting the slide, when tension on the strap 16 is relieved,out of holding relation with the cross bar 10. Thus the thumb and fingerof one hand may be used'to release the slide, while the other hand isleft free to take up or let out on the loop of strap extending about theslide.

Adjustments can thus be quickly and easily made one way or the other andthe strap will be automatically held in the position of adjustmentsimply by tension applied to the strap.

These features of easy adjustment and positive holding effect make thedevice particularly desirable for such uses as safety belts, shoulderharnesses and the like. The upper or non-adjustable strap 14 may beattached to the buckle in various ways, that shown being possibly thesimplest and being desirable as adding no extra parts.

The cupped buttons projecting from the opposite ends of the slide areparticularly practical for aviation purposes,

enabling a person using the buckle to firmly g rip and operate thedevice with gloved or mittened hands.

If it be desirable to have both straps adjustable, the slidfi holding;feature may-be duplicated aptl e-oppgsite d t h sb ckl a n qu ck relea es q iredr ne strap end maybe securedbyra quick ne-leaseholt l g cam n en h onp i e d Q hs-b ck-lc, sisclQsw incppending patent applicationSerial, NQt 3 79 19, fi'1ed February 28, 1952, now Patent No. 2,710,999,dated: JunB,2,1,,1955.

whatis claimed is:

A slide buckle, eomprisinga one piecesheetn1cta1 chan;

nel haying; a :fiat back wall and. substantiallyrparallel side flanges.vextending, upwardly. therefrom, a; stationary; nomrotatable cross-banrigidly. connecting; Said side flanges near; one. end of, the, channel,means for connecting; a strap-with, the opposite endportion-of thechannel, said sidefianges. haying straight, longitudinally, extending;slots thereinclose-to, and. substantially parallel with the flat backwall of the channel with the plane of the upper: edges:

of. said ,slotsintersecting said cross-bar, said slotsextending inaplanebetween said cross-bar. and. back wall and;

withtends ofthe sameclosetosaidcrossbar, aflatnQm rotatable bar,extending, across, the, channel; and having,-

flat-endv extensions slidablyt engag d in said slots, astra holdingnon-rotatable, sleeve engf ed, abo t h t P I iQ of said slidable barbetween the side flanges and,slida b1y; engageable, at its ends with theinner faces of. said,- side flanges, astrap havinga loopediportiondisposedwithin the channel and extending about said ,.s1e,eve.and-jbetween said sleeve and said stationary cross-bar, with both p orsiflanges-Er: a um saisb atware-in. straigba lidin relation toward andaway from the, stationary cross-bar and enabling manual' adjustment'ofisaid'slide bar in respect to the rigid cross-bar.

Reiuencpa-Qited tethefilc oi. thi pa cnt,

FETEN'FS;

, 277714 Hallie- Apr. 3.1860 650,785" Warne M-ay29, 1900 13235365whiteker-nu; Aug. 731-917- 1,41,6,892 Shields, May 23,1922

' Eczema BATENI 2552152 Eranqey Sept. 1-9; 1922' (Add. to 504,129645K232" June-126', 1928

